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You should send that epistle to Mr. Greenspan. I think you may have just stumbled on how to get the country out of its' economic slump, and imagine using woodworking tools to do it. Haleleujah!! [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

Now instead of just the planers, lets throw in the band saws, table saws and all the other Ridgid lineup and we're looking at a Dow of 13,000.

Just kidding Dan. [img]smile.gif[/img] I also, at times think that the Ridgid/HD combo is more beneficial to HD than Ridgid, but like so many other things they never asked me about it.

Bite the bullet and just buy the TP1300. You'll love it. (This will probably also result in an immediate price drop, if your luck is like mine.)

[ 08-14-2001: Message edited by: Hergy ]

Dick

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Dan,
FYI----I have friends who went through three Dewalt planers before buying the Ridgid unit. They were building their home out of cypress, inside and out( beautiful). Save yourself the agony and buy the right tool. My money has to stretch as far as it can. I research my purchases thoroughly before spending. It has worked well for me.
Good luck!
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dan Case:Yeah, I haven't asked anyone in my store about that sale price yet, but I get the impression that the deal ssg57 is talking about was a bit of a fluke -- I don't think I've ever seen a 'real' sale on Ridgid machines around here. Of course, since HD pretty much owns the Ridgid franchise, they don't really have much pressure to put Ridgid tools on sale. I have to admit that I still wonder if they even care whether Ridgid machines sell or not.

The only problem I have is that the TP1300 is a really good planer, and in fact is likely the best in its class. Still, there's something about the HD pricing arrogance that bugs me. I believe in the competitive marketplace, and HD/Ridgid's exclusive cohabitation just doesn't encourage the competitive force that drives sales volume up the charts. Trust me, if Lowe's had the Ridgid TP1300 in the tool corral, everyone would benefit --

1) Price would go down because of competitive forces -- good for the consumer
2) Volume of units sold would increase -- good for Ridgid, Lowes and HD.
3) More units in shops mean more exposure, more referrals, and more demand, creating even more sales volume (see #2)
4) More sales volume means the need for more production volume, lowering the cost per unit (lower prices for consumers, higher profit for manufacturer and distributors).
5) Higher production volume requires more labor, producing more jobs and more people with spendable income to further fuel our economy. That's good for everybody.

Competition is always good -- when you do it right, it's always a real win-win.

Well, I'm soon gonna be in the place where I'll need to go ahead and buy a planer, and I just might impulse buy one of those $299 DeWalts (the ones that are usually $399) the next time I see one offered. I think the TP1300 is probably a better machine overall, but the DeWalt isn't bad... and they aren't afraid to let the marketplace be the marketplace.

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Well, it looks like I'm gonna have to move to Houston if I'm gonna get a deal on that TP1300... on second thought, if it means moving to Houston, I'll just pay the extra money

Well, in followup to all my whining [img]smile.gif[/img] , I finally had a chance to have a nice talk with the head guy in the tool crib at my local HD. He's a pretty good guy, been there since they opened, and most of his woodworking machines were made by Delta in the 50's. He seems to be a straight shooter, and I like that. Bottom line on the sale thing: he's never seen a sale price on a Ridgid machine since the day the things came into the store. Why are there sale prices elsewhere? It's all whatever the regional guys say... they tell him, and he has to do it. Why would one store or market have such a great sale price when others never put them on sale at all? Hard to say... could be cometitive issues, could be trying to drive the store's volume up, could be someone right on the edge of a performance level where the bonus gets better. Basically, the best he's seen is throwing in the stand free with the TP1300 last Christmas -- but still at $397.

I had an interesting discussionn with the guy about planers. He owns one of the cheepie Deltas, and basically said that's what it performs like -- but it does what he needs to. He's had a lot of opportunity to have hands onn all the Ridgid machines at some of the meetings and such that they've sent him to, and when I asked if the TP1300 was a good machine and worth $397, instead of jumping on the seller's wagon and pushing his product, he replied, "Well, that depends. What do you want to do with it?" After discussing surfacing rough lumber, he said "If you're looking to really use it that way, buy the Ridgid. It's still only two knives, and it's not one of those high-end industrial planers... but it's well worth the price, you'll be happy with it, and it will do what you want." I appreciate a guy who sees the value of matching a customer with the right stuff, instead of just maximizing the sale.

Well, I'm not planning a trip to Houston, and I'd lose my savings shipping it from there, so I guess I've got to either suck it up and buy it (the wounds will heal in time) or shut up, right?

I know how to make the first Ridgid sale in that store's history happen. All I gotta do is buy a TP1300 at full price!

Thanks all...

D.

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Just another note about HD price matching. When I bought my TS 2424, I had stopped by the HD near work they hade the price marked at I beleive 599.00 I did not have the big vehicle with me, so I decided I would go to the one near the house that evening. When I got there, they had the price marked at 647.00. I aksed the salesperson about it, and told hime the proce at the other store. He said that if they had it marked at 599.00 it was incorrectly marked. So I am thinking to myself, oh here we go with this BS. The salesman offered to call the other store. When he called they said that they could not find a sign listing the price at 599.00 even though I told them exactly where it saw it. The salesman said that he would talk to the manager. A few minutes later the manager comes over and tells me, that even though they can't find the sign, and it was incorrect even if there was a sign, that he would take my word for it and sell it to me for 599.00. If you ask me that is pretty good customer service. [img]smile.gif[/img]

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I work for HD part time.. They got in a TS 2400 reconditioned. I bought it (first TS). I asked a lot of ?? at the tool coral. No body had any knowledge of TS. Could you please give me some pointers on the TS 2400. Also some Idea of a good Blade (I intend to start making furniture easy stuff at first), and Dado to get???

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Why can't I buy accesories for my TS2400 at my local HD? Seems to me, that as a dealer they would have the dado head table insert. Also to add a fence face you need 2 1/4"-20 x 3/4" square head bolts to attatch the facing. Try and find the bolts anywhere on this planet other than Ridgid! The bolts should come packaged in the box. I would gladly pay the extra $1.20 and forego the hassle of going on line and ordering and shipping two bolts and waiting the extra few days. The saw is sitting there waiting for 2 bolts that are not an integral part of operation but none the less important.

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For future reference, any Ridgid tools with a SKU starting with 810-XXX are recond tools. They still carry the lifetime warrenty. They are generally 25% off of list. You may run into a a situation where a store manager decided to sell a returned tool at full price becuase the customer who returned it claimed it was damaged, and it turned out to be OK. However, since it was returned and labeled damaged, it cannot be sold as "new" due to our inventory system. Call around, have the store do a remote search for recond Ridgids, they are listed as a seperate vendor, if y'all are looking for deals.